Participant Info

First Name
Ann
Last Name
Keating
Country
United States
State
IL Illinois
Affiliation
North Central College
Website URL
Keywords
Chicago, Nineteenth Century Cities, Suburbs, Local History, Infrastructure
Availability
Media Contact
Additional Contact Information
PhD
PhD

Personal Info

Photo
About Me

While much of my teaching has focused on urban and suburban history and studies, I teach broadly in U.S. history as well as in the the master’s program and the honor’s program.   Perhaps my most important contribution to scholarship has been as the co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Chicago (University of Chicago Press, 2004), a print and online (www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org) project.

My first book (based on my dissertation), Building Chicago: Suburban Developers and the Creation of a Divided Metropolis  (Ohio State University Press, 1988) [paper reprint University of Illinois Press, 2002], traced the emergence of suburban government in Chicago.  In Chicagoland: City and Suburbs of the Railroad Age” (University of Chicago Press, 2005), I examined on the role of the railroad in the region’s physical development. Most recently, I have turned to Chicago’s early history, exploring its foundation myths and history in Rising Up From Indian Country: The Battle of Fort Dearborn and the Birth of Chicago (Chicago, 2012).

As well, I have written Invisible Networks: Exploring the History of Local Utilities and Public Works (New Melbourne, FL: Peter Krieger Publishers, 1994) and co-authored two histories of North Central College, one that focuses on its relationship to Naperville, the other marking the 150th anniversary of the college’s founding.

I served as the first newsletter editor of the Urban History Association (1989-1997) and its president in 2002.  I am  a co-convener of the Urban History Seminar at the Chicago History Museum and have been a supporter of local history in Illinois, serving on the board of the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, and working with Naper Settlement, 2007-12 on a USDA Teaching American History Grant.

Recent Publications

“’Keep up the agitation’: Rev. Jerry Forshey and a KKK Cross from Jackson, Mississippi, Journal of rhe
Illinois State Historical Society, 107:1 (Spring 2014): 45-76.
“’Keep up the Agaitation’: Chicago Clergy and Civil Rights,” Methodist History, LI:4 (July 2013): 275-
291.
Rising Up From Indian Country: The Battle of Fort Dearborn and the Birth of Chicago (Chicago, 2012).
North Central College: 150 Years, A Promising Start (2011) with P. Lebeau and K. Butler.
Editor, Chicago Neighborhoods and Suburbs, (University of Chicago Press, 2008).
Chicagoland: City and Suburbs of the Railroad Age” (University of Chicago Press, 2005).
Water Interpretive Digital Essay, online version of the “Encyclopedia of Chicago” launched May 2005
Chicago History Museum website (www.chicagohs.org).
Co-editor, Encyclopedia of Chicago (University of Chicago Press, 2004) with James R. Grossman and
Janice L. Reiff..
“Chicagoland: More than the Sum of Its Parts,” Journal of Urban History (January 2004).
Building Chicago: Suburban Developers and the Creation of a Divided Metropolis (Ohio State University
Press, 1988) [paper reprint University of Illinois Press, 2002].
Invisible Networks: Exploring the History of Local Utilities and Public Works (New Melbourne, FL: Peter
Krieger Publishers, 1994)
A Shared History: North Central

Media Coverage
Country Focus
Expertise by Geography
United States
Expertise by Chronology
19th century
Expertise by Topic
American Civil War, Local & Regional, Urban History